The Working Families Flexibility Act. Win?

posted at 9:31 am on May 12, 2013 by Jazz Shaw

This weekend, Andrew Malcolm brings us the full text of the Republican Party’s weekly remarks, this time delivered by Representative Martha Roby (R-AL2). In addition to Mothers Day, she spends some time discussing the passage this week in the House of the bill she authored, The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013. ( Lest you think I’m burying the lede here… BREAKING: The House Actually Did Something.)

A more flexible workplace isn’t a new concept. In fact, many employees in the public sector enjoy this benefit right now. That’s because in 1985 Congress passed a law allowing local and state governments to offer their employees the option of comp time.

So, why should the rules be different for employees in the private sector? Why should government workers have more freedom in the workplace than everybody else? And why is Washington restricting employers from offering certain benefits that government itself is free to offer?

Our message to the American people is this: we want to get Washington out of the way of how you use your time. I am proud to champion the Working Families Flexibility Act on behalf of working moms and dads throughout the country.

The short version of what the bill does (full text here) is to make it legal for private employers to offer workers the option of putting in extra hours and, rather than getting paid for it that week, bank the hours to take paid time off later – providing it doesn’t cause undue stress to the work schedule – without having to use up their vacation days. Currently companies are mostly prohibited from offering this option because of provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

This is one of those cases where I can understand opponents having hesitation or questions about the bill, and it deserved the fair debate it received. Those protections were put in place to prevent employers from abusing the system and avoiding paying overtime to workers putting in more than 40 hours per week. But the bill has put in provisions to protect against that, and only offers the workers a chance to opt for the extra time off if that’s what they want.

I’ve run into similar situations in years past. One place I worked when I was younger always had extra seasonal work in late winter where plenty of overtime was available. But I always wanted to go fishing in the spring, and went so far as to ask if I could bank up some time. I was informed that I could not because of legal reasons, so I can see where this type of flexibility would benefit some workers.

Yet the National Partnership for Women & Families opposes the measure. Judith L. Lichtman, the organization’s senior advisor, testified against the bill before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, saying, “it would leave workers with neither pay nor time” and “magnifies the power imbalance between employer and employee.”

She argued that H.R. 1406 “offers a false, flawed choice that would make times even tougher for workers and their families.”

No real explanation is offered as to why she’s describing something which seems to be the opposite of the bill as written, but we might get a hint from the fact that the unions and in general and the AFL-CIO in particular hate this bill with a vengeance. While one might wonder why unions representing workers wouldn’t want workers to have more options, (assuming you’ve been asleep for the last 30 years) it’s really not much of a mystery. Unions live off the dues they collect from their members. The more they work and the more they earn, the more money goes into the unions’ coffers. Little things like extra paid time off to go fishing don’t do anything to stack up the cash they need to pump into the next round of elections.

Will the Senate take up this or a companion bill so it can go to the President? And would Barack Obama sign it if they did? Stay tuned.

Blowback

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Sure you are. Typical f*cking government worker. I don’t care what you vote, you’re part of the problem.

lowandslow on May 12, 2013 at 1:00 PM

I take it you have read nothing I’ve said about my situation.
I’ll spell it out for you you sanctimonious turd:
I have a 182 day per year contract.
My husband & I have a full scale cow/calf operation & we also have a one man trucking operation running cattle, grain, & hay, + anything that fits on a flatbed.
It’s not under the table.
We have business insurance covering everything on the place under our farm & ranch policy, which is aobut $5,200 per year.
It is amazing to me you want to lump me in a boat of worthless govt workers when I’m no lazy teacher.
I actually took the chance at a job & pioneered an effort in my local community to have 2 high schools share me as their science teacher so 1, I could have some sanity from an incompetent lazy admin, & 2 so the schools could both save some $$. Bcs I also help pay my own salary as a tax payer.
I do not complain of the teaching workload as many teachers do. I feel my compensation is more than fair & have many times contacted my state reps to stop the union from forcing the state from paying my pension if the market fails.
I actually have done those things. Bcs I don’t think as a state employee my job should be any more protected than a civil worker.
I stand for the Constitution of the US, with heavy emphasis on the 10th.
I also champion some sort of merit pay system within education.
In reality, education should not be Federal. And I am all for that, even if it put me out of a job.
Bcs you see, I dod not get a worthless degree. I got a BS in geology bcs I wanted a skill that was desirable & worth something.
So you see, turd, I am not the person you characterize me to be.
You, in fact, are nothing but a judgmental a-hole who did not consider my situation when you lumped me in the boat of worthless teachers, which I can tell you there are plenty.
It would be interesting to know what your situation is. But I won’t castigate you for things I don’t know.
But things I would consider when judging you further are, do you have kids? Are they in public school?
Do you think you have a right to SS benefits?
Things like that.

side photography jobs. A side job she can do undercutting someone else, so screw her.

lowandslow on May 12, 2013 at 12:59 PM

This is hilarious.
You equate the term ‘side job’ with illegal job, as in not paying taxes.
Where’s the apology a-hole?
Bcs I claim my income from photography when I pay taxes.
But I will not open a physical brick & mortar studio in the small town nearby bcs I already looked into it & I can’t afford the ADDITIONAL insurance.
I do, however, already pay business insurance through our current BUSINESS policy that takes care of this stuff. Only the photography occurs on my ranch.
Really, reading comprehension’s not your cup of tea. I see that.

And as I told you earlier, there is no photography biz here.
There WAS. She closed shop after many years about 4 years ago.
Now kids needing Sr pics, sports pics etc have to TRAVEL to more than 100 miles away in come cases for pics.
I am filling a need & since there is no legitimate biz here in that genre, I am not ‘undercutting’ anyone.
Dude, you are unhinged.
And a real dumba$$.

And I wonder how much your “trucking outfit” takes in in cash. But it’s o.k., you’ve reasoned it all out that you deserve it.

lowandslow on May 12, 2013 at 1:18 PM

Really? This is how you operate?
My husband does not deal in cash. He hauls for grain elevators & does work for lots of farms & ranches. There is a lot of paperwork involved.
And no one around here works under the table trucking.

Anyone that spends that much time and effort defending themselves is lying.

lowandslow on May 12, 2013 at 1:14 PM

OK. Clearly you’re not interested in hearing anything I have to say.
It’s much easier for you to attack me as just lying.
After all, you don’t know me at all, & cannot vouch for my truth.
It’s just so much easier to just call me a liar & thumb your nose at me.
I guess I’ve not recalled you here at HA before.
And I have seen your type on the Internet oh so many times.
Instead of thoughtful conversation, you’d much rather immediately resort to insulting someone who never even addressed you here on this thread & call me a liar.
I have several Hot Arians here who are FB friends with me & I know they can attest to my honesty & the fact that we do ranch & truck.
And bcs they personally know my character & a few have met me, I’m not worried about defending myself to you.
I only responded to school you in myself & where I stand on these issues.
You are the one on the attack. And I never solicited your nastiness.
If you are going to insult someone, have the facts of their situation, & if you’re not willing to consider their testimony & just automatically dismiss it as lies without ever being able to really discern that, then why even bother coming here?

You know really, now you’re just trolling.
Don’t you have something better to do with your life than holler at perfect strangers & clal them liars when they’re trying to engage in real debate about important topics?
You’ve not said one thoughtful thing here yet.
All you are doing is spewing hatred.
If you’re going to spew hate, you really ought to come up with some factual evidence that backs it up.

I don’t like big government, and really despise public unions, and I think the teacher’s union cares a lot about the teacher’s union, a little about teachers, and not at all about kids. But that doesn’t mean that every teacher, or every government employee is therefore corrupt or incapable of behaving honorably or giving full value for their pay. I was a government employee for six years and I think I did a pretty good job as a Staff Sergeant.

. I was a government employee for six years and I think I did a pretty good job as a Staff Sergeant.

Immolate on May 12, 2013 at 1:48 PM

Thank you for your service. My son is currently a government employee as well. Government employees protect us every day – military, police, fire fighter – to disparage teachers as “government employees” is to disparage all of them.

That’s why they hire people who can’t count past ten (seen this personally) and reject, oh, someone who can do anything up to basic algebra in his head. You won’t get what you don’t test for, and not that many FF joints have even an elementary-math test on their application, like Subway does.

The more they work and the more they earn, the more money goes into the unions’ coffers. Little things like extra paid time off to go fishing don’t do anything to stack up the cash they need to pump into the next round of elections.

I’ve been railroading (I’m a locomotive engineer) for over 35 years. My union dues are a fixed monthly amount. Varying amounts earned from month to month (and I can work a lot of overtime) have no bearing on the amount of union dues I pay.
To be honest, my employer would rather pay overtime when necessary than keep enough people on hand to allow for comp time.
Unfortunately, all employers aren’t benevolent. As long as there are sufficient safe guards in place to protect people (in a timely fashion) who want the OT pay instead of comp time, its a great concept.

That’s why they hire people who can’t count past ten (seen this personally) and reject, oh, someone who can do anything up to basic algebra in his head. You won’t get what you don’t test for, and not that many FF joints have even an elementary-math test on their application, like Subway does.

MelonCollie on May 12, 2013 at 3:04 PM

Off topic: A couple of weeks ago, a kid in a FF drive through lane gave me too much change. When I pointed this out, it was like I started a Chinese fire drill in the place.

We have Quick Trip gas station/convenience stores in our area. One reason I like doing business with them is because they require their people to make change.

Slang for a government worker that does side work for cash. Mostly teachers that use their three month vacation undercutting legitimate businesses.

lowandslow on May 12, 2013 at 12:56 PM

Huh? That makes no sense. Many teachers have to take second jobs anyway because their pay sucks.

In the first place, it’s not a three month paid vacation, it’s a furlow…they’re contract workers and work from day A through day B according to the contract. Also, in some places it’s two months.

Personally, I think that maybe 2-3 weeks summer vacation for the students is enough…there’s always more to learn as time goes by-not less.

But we’re dealing with hundreds of years of inertia when it comes to American education, going all the way back to the English model before public schools existed.

Oh, and summer vacation (June and July in particular) has nothing to do with farming. Most crops are harvested in mid to late August, the fall or for certain crops harvesting is in the spring (spring break). It was simply the best time of year in central and northern Europe to go out and do stuff. During the long dreary winters you may as well be inside studying and going to classes.

Kids still needed time off from school for the harvests and were accommodated by the the local school boards.

Off topic: A couple of weeks ago, a kid in a FF drive through lane gave me too much change. When I pointed this out, it was like I started a Chinese fire drill in the place.

We have Quick Trip gas station/convenience stores in our area. One reason I like doing business with them is because they require their people to make change.

tgharris on May 12, 2013 at 3:38 PM

I’d believe it. I’d just had the idea of challenging managers in person that I could best any employee they had in mental math when my current employer called me. My sympathy for employers complaining that they can’t find anyone who can do the four basic operations is long since dead. They don’t test for those skills, they can suffer with math illiterates.

If you are going to insult someone, have the facts of their situation, & if you’re not willing to consider their testimony & just automatically dismiss it as lies without ever being able to really discern that, then why even bother coming here?

bazilI knew 9 on May 12, 2013 at 6:36 PMI knew you’d pounce on that. IT was for your benefit I gave that to you.
Well my dear I’m not very patient or partial to a gal who dismisses my contribution through learned experience as looking at life through a narrow lens.
If you didn’t give a rat’s a$$ you wouldn’t waste you time responding to me.

bazil9 on May 12, 2013 at 11:16 AM
Your thinly veiled insult was only followed up with a sincere invitation to ki$$ my a$$. I didn’t call you a name.If you find ki$$ing the a$$ of a 43yo woman offensive, well, I know my husband doesn’t.
I have a pretty decent a$$, as well.
And if you’re a lesbian, why maybe you shouldn’t be so insulted.

Badger40 on May 13, 2013 at 8:08 AM

Yeah..it made me lol. Your soooo clever.
My sexuality..lol..had to add that didn’t you?
You embarrass yourself.
No..your condescending attitude is shi$$y..I could have read the rest of what you wrote each time but your not into civil debate. I may even have agreed with you on points but ..that passed. Nope..could care a less..didn’t even read your entire comment..just amusing my self watching you spasm and your long posts shrieking like peacock. Sometimes..it is entertainment…you confuse that with caring.
Yep, this cretin lezbo is working but knew YOU would pounce. Cause you care! Fun game, eh?
LOL- good times.
Later pumpkin.